Naruto Review Part 1

Opening Thoughts

How I started Naruto

I first got into Naruto and Anime in general in 2014, back then I was totally oppsessed with Television and binging TV Shows but I had little to know knowledge of anime or manga ... all the Anime I knew was just Spacetoon which's a Kids channel in Arabic that aired popular stuff like Dragon Ball or Hunter X Hunter (Al Kanas) but I wasn't a regular watcher, I just happened to catch the odd episode here and there.

Then in 2014, my cousin introduced me to this viral thing called Anime and appearantly it's Japanese originated (back then I thought it's just another thing from Europe/USA) and he told me to watch his favorite Anime Naruto so I said why not, I have a lot of free time and back then I used to love binging Naruto and the show had hundred of episodes when I started.

Filler or not I watched it all and I didn't know what's what, I just finished it in record time. and here I will go through the journey again starting by reviewing the first part of the story.

Setting the Scene: Team 7's dynamic

After graduating from the Ninja Academy, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura form Team 7 under the leadership of the experienced ninja Kakashi Hatake. This group is quite iconic in all anime and each had a pretty decent role at the start.

It's a hot take these days but Sakura got too much hate, at least in Part 1 rewatching it Sakura is a decent character. Meanwhile, I am not a fan of Sasuke to get things started, never been a fan of this arctype of character but to be honest looking at recent evolution of sasukes in new gen anime he is still leagues above what came after him.

As for Kakashi, he was decent. I know he is pretty popular but I never got the appeal. The mysterious persona got stale after time for me.

Naruto on the other hand was absolutely and with no doubt the best of the group not just because of him being the main character or anything but also he felt to have the most agency and the best dialogue in my opinion, he stands out in team 7.

Overall the dynamic of this team is like I said earlier iconic and inspired many and many new gen anime to copy it (ehm jjk).

The other teams

If I had to pick today who was my favorite teams aside from 7, it was easily Team 3, 10 and 8.

Team 3 because of Kiba, I think one of the most hilarious things looking back at it is Kiba saying he will be Hokage challenging Naruto. His powers were quite unique and pretty fun.

Team 10 has my GOAT, Shikamaru who has 2 of the 5 best fights in the story and overall just a great character and the most relatable one in animanga.

Team 3 or more commonly Team Guy, just simply the best group. The group with the most interesting storyline even more than Team 7 for me, except for the female of the group which fade in irrelevance. Guy, Rock Lee and Neji Hyuga are simply some of the greatest characters in animanga.

The Plot

The First Arc

The early arcs in Naruto introduce us to the ninja world and let's be honest it is the most interesting concept as well ... Everyone as a kid wanted to be a Ninja not a Samurai or a Pirate.

Also I'm glad my first real introduction into anime/manga came into a very rich world building not another japan/usa centered world ... I just think if you're gonna do a fantasy story don't do it in real world earth; make your own world.

First with the Land of Waves arc being the standout starter. We explore all the hardships Naruto had to go through as an outcast, back then that was a pretty unique story and pretty engaging.

Chunin Exam (One of the Shonen Arcs of All Times)

Chunin Exam considered by many one of the greatest Shonen Arcs of all times and it only comes 35 chapters (20 episodes) in the story which helped imo Naruto a lot in the western audience who aren't as patience and just want to get to the meat as soon as possible (One Piece's biggest problem but these days they got past it) and appearantly even Kishimoto was going the Oda route of Slow Pace but he got forced into creating this masterpiece.

I can go on and on about how brilliant Chunin Exam but let's start from the beginning and Gaara is here. The arc starts with Naruto meeting Gaara and learning about the Chunin Exam with each nation sending their best genin trying to become Chunin and Konoha kind assembled the avengers 9 for this.

From the beginning everyone was waiting for Sasuke vs Gaara, the 2 prodigee and still to this day sad we didn't get the full conclusion of that (I think Sasuke would've won btw). Shikamaru's role here was dope too although back then I didn't really understand the plot around him, I just thought he is a fodder villain that will be defeated soon but I was wrong.

Aside from Sasuke/Shikamaru plotline, the main interesting thing is the Hyuga story that Naruto got into and it's for sure what elevated not just the arc but Part 1 as a whole, sad it was dropped later tho.

Naruto vs Sasuke and End of Part 1

The unfinished duel and the chase was exciting at least at this point of the story for me it was and I was even more excited to get to the cool part where everyone grows and get stronger and have flashier abilities that I was promised ... little did I know I will miss the first part so much.

My Favorite Moments

Neji vs Naruto/Hinata

Neji's fight with Naruto, as well as his clash with Hinata, are two of the most impactful battles in the series. They dive deep into the struggles of the Hyuga family, but more than that, they showcase Naruto's determination to break through any limit, that's what I originally thought, sadly part 2 had different plans for Neji, the greatest tragedy of Naruto's writing.

Lee vs Gaara

Lee's fight against Gaara is one of those unforgettable moments where every emotion is amplified. Seeing Lee open the Eight Gates to give everything he has was nothing short of legendary, and it shows his warrior spirit in the face of impossible odds.

And ofc the iconic weights drop, no one will forget that.

Shikamaru

I want to be a cloud too, it's the only fight I rewatch or have saved on my youtube. He is my favorite character without a doubt.

Rating

Simply put, the first part of Naruto is greatness in its purest form. From the world-building and character arcs to the memorable battles, it set a high standard for what shonen anime could achieve. It's a series I'll always look back on fondly.

Rating: 18/20